


even walls fall down

by cosmic strings (electrick)



Series: moments [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Brienne is a whole lotta woman, Canon Divergence, F/M, confession time, explicit hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 13:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19110940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electrick/pseuds/cosmic%20strings
Summary: “We’re to fight the dead tomorrow, ser Jaime,” Brienne cleared her throat, not unable but unwilling to recognize the truth of his declaration. His grip around her hand tightened, but she did not fight it. The warmth of his touch felt comforting, she noticed, as her body betrayed her.--in which Jaime and Brienne have one quiet moment together before the Battle of Winterfell. Canon divergent from 8x02.





	even walls fall down

**Author's Note:**

> title from Walls by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. TBH I wasn't a huge fan of 8x04 so putting my two cents in for a What if Brienne and Jaime had a soft first kiss instead?

Eventually, Brienne found her way back into her quarters, her hand at the helm of Oathkeeper serving a real reminder that she was now a knight. It was dark, much too late for anyone to be still be awake and yet the castle was alive, murmurs and whispers at every turn and corner. There was no one to blame for this — to be expected in the eve of the great war. 

 

As she made her way to her quarters, she noticed a figure waiting outside the wooden door. The closer she walked, the sooner she realized it was Jaime who was leaning against the door with a distraught look on his face. He did seem quite on edge the entire night, whispering words softly and stealing glances. 

 

“Ser Jaime, what are you doing here?” she asked as she stood in front of him.

 

“Ser Brienne,” he spoke as he stood up. With his back straight and standing upright, he almost met Brienne’s height. He could look her in the face now, at the very least. 

 

“Seeing as how you left in a hurry, I was hoping we could talk,” he replied as he moved aside. 

 

“Talk? We are to fight the dead in a few hours and you wish to talk?” she asked incredulously. She walked past him and opened the door to her room. 

 

“Well I suppose this is as good a time as any if we are to die tomorrow,” he quipped and walked inside after her. He noticed the room was exceedingly bare, save for a bed and a chair. He shouldn’t have been surprised all things considering. Brienne walked to the chair and unbuckled the belt that hung Oathkeeper from her waist. She sat down and motioned for Jaime to take a seat. 

 

“It suits you,” he gestured towards the sword next to her. Brienne felt her face flush, her stomach drop, and her heart skip a beat all at once. 

 

“I hope to do it and you justice,” she murmured as she unbuckled and removed the gorget. 

 

“You have and will continue to do so. I know it,” Jaime’s lips trembled, and he felt a smile play at his lips. Brienne, however, saw the smile in his eyes. 

 

“We should really get some rest,” Brienne spoke after a few moments, knowing full well neither she nor Jaime were going to sleep that night. She stirred in the chair, uncomfortable in the intimacy of their conversation. If Jaime would leave, then she would finally be able to rest, to think clearly, possibly even breathe without the overwhelming weight on her heart. His behavior had been bizarre all day with him following her around in the courtyard. 

 

“I thank you, ser. For speaking on my behalf earlier today,” he spoke softly as if he were responding to her thoughts. Brienne felt her breath catch in her throat and she stood up suddenly. 

 

“Please leave, ser.” Her eyes shone with a ferocity yet she did not meet his gaze. He followed her lead and walked to her. The light from the fire gleamed from his leather jacket on her tunic. He reached out to grasp her hand with his left. The touch surprised her, the hard callouses on his palm caressing hers. Her hand felt larger than his, she thought, not quite right. His nails were unclean with grime gathered under the nail plate but it didn’t bother her. She had seen him in worser conditions years ago. It felt like another lifetime, one where Lady Catelyn had trusted in his word to protect the Stark sisters, one where Vargo Hoat had chopped Jaime’s hand off, one where she gladly cleaned him up of dirt and bile. A thumb grazed over the back of her hand in circles, each movement sending waves to her insides and reminding her of her reality. Jaime was here in front of her with a pleading look on his face.

 

“I won’t leave you,” he whispered. In this light, he looked tired. The grey peppered in his beard, the silver streaking his once golden mane, the harsh lines under his eyes all stood out marking his journey to the North, away from his past. In this light, he wasn’t the Jaime Lannister of his prime. He hadn’t been that Jaime for some time, she knew that. 

 

“Not now. Not ever. If you’ll have me,” he repeated the words he had offered her this morning. 

 

“We’re to fight the dead tomorrow, ser Jaime,” Brienne cleared her throat, not unable but unwilling to recognize the truth of his declaration. His grip around her hand tightened, but she did not fight it. The warmth of his touch felt comforting, she noticed, as her body betrayed her. 

 

“And much worse if we survive.” 

 

When their eyes met, he knew that she understood the larger meaning of his words. His eyes spoke to her of their past, their present and their future. She knew of his past,and she accepted it for he was not the same man who he was when they first met. She knows him now as a man of honor, who had given her the same honor when no one else had. She knows him to be true to his word in this world of treachery and deceit. 

 

She brought her hand to cup his bearded jaw, closing her eyes as she leaned into his body. The warmth and musk of him enveloped her and she felt a strange peace she hadn’t felt for years. Her lips found his with a quiet fervor, one that Brienne had placated for some time. Jaime matched hers tenfold as he snaked her right arm around her waist and pulled her deeper into him. 

 

Her eyes opened and she smiled a smile reminiscent of the one earlier after he had knighted her. 

 

“You really should smile more often. A beautiful knight is hard to come by these days,” he chuckled as he rested his forehead against hers. They breathed into each other, a new life found for them with this kiss. Her cheeks burned pink with the reminder that Jaime not only thought her beautiful, but knighted her. 

 

“You’re standing here, aren’t you?” she pursed her lips together to stop from smiling. Her comment must have caught him off guard — he looked surprised for a minute and then smirked. She was thrilled to see his cheeks tinge with a redness that wasn’t caused by the cold, but by her instead. His eyes crinkled at the side and he let out a laugh. 

 

_In this light_ , she thought, _he looked like a man in love_.

**Author's Note:**

> I really debated having Jaime say the line about her smiling more but I like to think brienne's response shuts him right up.


End file.
